Posted By DP Opinion On April 16, 2013 @ 10:50 am In What They Are Saying ... | No Comments

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People react as an explosion goes off near the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon in Boston, Monday. (AP Photo/The Boston Globe, David L. Ryan)

What some of the nation’s columnists are saying about Monday’s bombing at the Boston Marathon:

“We need answers”
We will get through this, but we will never be the same. Even as the smoke drifted away from Boylston, we are still in the fog, still in the dark, our ears still ringing from the bombs. And we are left with this unnerving proposition: If it was home-grown, it was probably an aberration, the work of a lunatic. If it was foreign inspired or sponsored, we will never feel safe again in our own town. President Obama asked the rest of the country to pray for Boston. But we need more than prayers. We need answers. We need peace of mind, and we’ll never have that again on Patriots Day. Ever. Because somebody came here on our Patriots Day and launched their own revolution.
–Kevin Cullen, The Boston Globe[2]

Patriots’ Day defiled
At this point, we have no idea who did this. So we don’t know how the significance of Patriots’ Day factored into the decision to commit an act of terror. But it is a horrible defilement of a date treasured by the whole nation, and especially by those of us who have known its joys very personally.
— E.J. Dionne Jr., Washington Post Writers Group[3]

Struggle against terrorism
No matter who set off the bombs in Boston or why they did it, this event should remind us that the United States remains locked in a struggle against terrorists that need no drone attacks to convince them to kill Americans. As much as we should hold our government accountable, the first responsibility of the president and our security services is to combat terrorists, no matter their origin or motive. Let’s hope this tragedy reminds more of us that treating this question as an excuse to vent foolish speculation about nonexistent government attacks on innocent Americans advances neither our civil liberties nor our security.
–Jonathan S. Tobin, Commentary Magazine

Perpetrator had to be seen
The same things that made Boylston Street an attractive terrorist target will make it difficult for the perpetrator or perpetrators to escape unseen. Since the event is practically made for photographs and video, there is little doubt that people who were there may have evidence in their cameras and iPhones that they should review immediately.
— Juliette Kayyem, The Boston Globe

Fear won’t paralyze us
Yes, we have to learn from this. And we will. We’ll need to examine the security plan for the marathon and ask whether this could have been prevented. And we’ll have to apply the lessons we learn to other public events. But life here will go on. We won’t be paralyzed by fear.
— Scot Lehigh, The Boston Globe[4]

Day of triumph now day of tragedy
Monday, this was Boston, when a gloriously sunny day, brisk and just a little breezy—near perfect for the running of the 117th Boston Marathon—turned grotesque and unthinkable. This time, the killers didn’t just get innocents, they managed to dial up a brutal incongruity. They made a day of triumph for so many of the 27,000 competitors one that will forever be recalled for its tragedy.
–Bud Withers, Seattle Times[5]

“It feels like our town”
It happened to be Boston this time. It could have been our town. The thing about terrorism is that no matter where it happens, it feels like our town, doesn’t it? Viscerally? Our hearts go out like it was. If adversity tests and toughens a man or a woman, then it must work collectively on a country. Well, America keeps getting stronger, folks. They keep trying to knock us down. We keep getting back up, our eyes a little sharper and our hide a little harder, but hopefully not our hearts, though.
— Greg Cote, The Miami Herald[6]

Inspiring, stubborn
We can be vigilant. We can be smart. But we can’t bring the risk of a terrorist attack down to zero. We’d have to give up too much to do that. We’d have to become a police state. And even that would not be enough. If we are willing to die in wars to protect our freedom, we must be willing to die right here in Boston. It was surreal to see half the city conducting business as usual. But there was something inspiring and stubborn about it. Tomorrow, this city is going to get up and live its life. We are not going to let anyone stop us.
–Farah Stockman, The Boston Globe[7]

Terrorism high on national agenda
As of Monday morning, the nation’s public life was sharply focused on the domestic issues of immigration, gun control and the budget deficit. How much that will change will depend on answers yet to come — who is found responsible for the attack, whether any obvious lapses of security precautions helped make it possible, whether obvious warnings were overlooked. By day’s end, however, it was clear that the Boston bombings had suddenly put terrorism back high on the national agenda.
— David Lauter, Los Angeles Times

War is “province of the few”
The terror bombing of the Boston Marathon is yet one more item in a bloody skein of evidence that has emerged over the past decade proving that war is now, more than ever, the province of “the few.” The destructive and disruptive power of small groups and even individuals — in the physical world as well as in cyberspace — just keeps growing.
–John Arquilla, Foreign Policy[8]

Boston will rise stronger
Boston is a tough city. It is full of ethnic neighborhoods and gritty blue-collar workers. It is the cradle of the American Revolution, the place that helped launch and create our great republic. We have been dealt a great blow. Our city has been attacked. But we will rise again stronger and more united and resilient than ever. We’re Bostonians. That’s what we do. That’s who we are.
— Jeffrey T. Kuhner, The Washington Times